This invention relates to an adhesive-free resealable, reusable mailer package for shipping goods to a consumer, who may then re-use the same package for remailing the goods back to the sender.
An adhesive-free resealable, reusable mailer package is very desirable in this age of modern technology, where many sales occur over the Internet and e-commerce has created a new meaning for xe2x80x9cmail-orderxe2x80x9d goods. The consumers"" need for an easy and convenient way to repackage and re-mail unwanted merchandise back to the sender has always existed but now that need has increased significantly with the genesis of e-commerce. Additionally, the need for a reusable mailer package results in a need for a resealable reusable package that has a simple and inexpensive construction.
A re-mailable returnable envelope is disclosed in Kim U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,553. This envelope is not sufficient for sending nor returning goods and merchandise back to the sender through the postal system, but instead is designed for re-mailing correspondence. The envelope has inner and outer front panels each provided with a sealing flap that has adhesive areas. The recipient may reuse the envelope by removing the outer front panel to expose the inner front panel of the envelope.
Another resealable paper envelope is disclosed in Burns U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,322. This envelope is used to secure documents as needed in business applications. Rather than using paperclips or staples, the envelope secures the documents and is resealable. Such an envelope of paper construction is not intended, nor would it be sufficient to ship merchandise. Additionally, for opening and closing the envelope pressure sensitive contact adhesive is utilized.
A resealable multiple-use package of spunbonded olefin sheet material is disclosed in Greer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,854. It is known that there are significant drawbacks of utilizing spunbonded olefin sheet material in a re-mailable envelope used for shipping merchandise. One problem is that the olefin forms such a secure bond with hot melt adhesive that when the package is opened the olefin material is stretched and damaged. To overcome this problem, Greer discloses an olefin envelope that has a non-continuous adhesive strip with many openings so that the tear force required to open the package is reduced. An important aspect of any resealable package that is used for mailing merchandise, sometimes across country or even internationally, is that it will not re-open during transit. Thus, Greer""s adhesive strip would not be sufficient for mailing merchandise through the postal system.
Timm et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,962 discloses a resealable package that has a multiple reseal capability. The package includes a first substrate with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive and another layer of cold seal adhesive applied over the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive. An additional layer of cold seal adhesive is applied to a second substrate. In use, the first substrate is wrapped around a product to be packaged and the two cold seal adhesive strips are aligned, pressed together and bonded. When the package is opened, the two substrates are pulled apart and the pressure sensitive adhesive is peeled off the substrate section, exposing the adhesive so that the package can be resealed using the exposed pressure sensitive adhesive. The drawback of this package is that it is critical to select appropriate adhesives for the proper functioning of the package. In other words, the adhesives chosen must be selected so that the bonds between the pressure sensitive adhesive and the cold seal adhesive, and the bonds between the cold seal adhesive and the substrate section, are stronger than the bond between the pressure sensitive adhesive and the substrate, otherwise, the pressure sensitive adhesive will not be cleanly pulled off the substrate upon pulling the substrates apart. Secondly, another drawback of this package is that if the substrate is not treated, some of the pressure sensitive adhesive will remain and will not be cleanly peeled off the substrate.
In this new millennium and age of the Internet, there is a large and growing amount of sales of merchandise over the Internet, e.g., e-commerce, in addition to the ordinary catalog sales and sales from fulfillment houses. These new types of transactions, in addition to the established ones, cause a tremendous increase in the mailing and shipping of goods, both locally and across the country. Inevitably, the increase in the sales and shipping of goods consequently causes an increase in returning those same goods to the shipper when the consumer is unsatisfied with the purchase. Therefore, a need exists for a convenient way to ship goods to consumers that can be easily returned to the shipper in the same package when necessary to do so. This need highlights a further need for a resealable package that has a simple and inexpensive construction. The present invention fulfills these needs by providing a durable, weather-resistant, adhesive-free resealable reusable package.
The present invention provides an adhesive-free, resealable, reusable mailer package, which offers a consumer a convenient way to return goods in the same package back to the sender and also offers a manufacturer a resealable package that has a simple and inexpensive construction.
The invention relates to a package-forming material for forming a package which encloses and seals an article therein. The package-forming material includes a packaging material in the form of at least one sheet having a surface that is receptive to receiving cohesive or adhesive materials; and a cohesive material applied to surface portions of the packaging material. To make a resealable package, a liner is provided upon at least part of a cohesive material containing surface portion adjacent to where the article is to be packaged to prevent that part of the surface portion from adhering to other cohesive material containing surface portions, thus forming a non-adhered margin adjacent the article after the package is formed. The packaging material is then placed about an article to be packaged such that surface portions of the packaging material that include the cohesive material contact other portions that include cohesive material to adhere such portions to each other and form a sealed package which encloses the article with the non-adhered margin adjacent the article. Preferably, the adhered cohesive portions surround the article to be packaged.
An indication of where the package can be opened can be included so that the indication enables the package to be opened in the non-adhered margin, such that the package may be resealed by removing the liner and contacting the cohesive material containing surface portions to adhere such portions to each other and form a re-sealed package. After opening the package along the indication and removing the article from the package, the article may be replaced in the package and the package is resealed by removing the liner and package contacting the cohesive material containing surface portions to adhere such portions together. The indication is preferably an indicia or a pre-printed dotted line which indicates where the package may be cut to open it. Also, the package-forming material can also include indicia to indicate where an edge or end of the article to be packaged should be placed so that it does not cover the liner. The liner is preferably paper, plastic, foil or a composite material.
The packaging material may be paper or plastic but advantageously is a laminate of paper and plastic. One preferred material is a thermoplastic material such as TYVEK(copyright). Another preferred packaging material is a laminate that includes a water impermeable plastic film having a first corona discharge treated surface that is adhesively cold laminated to a first paper layer. Alternatively, the packaging material may be a laminate that includes a water impermeable plastic film having first and second corona discharge treated surfaces that are adhesively cold laminated to first and second paper layers.
The cohesive material is advantageously present upon first and second surface portions of the packaging material and the package is formed by placing the first surface of the packaging material above the article to be packaged and by placing the second surface portion of the packaging material below the article to be packaged, such that the first and second surface portions of the packaging material that include the cohesive material contact and adhere to each other to form the sealed package which encloses the article. The first and second surface portions of the packaging material may be provided on one side of a single sheet of the laminate which is then folded around the article to be packaged to place the cohesive material containing portions in face-to-face orientation so that they can be adhered together to form the package. For convenience, the cohesive material may be present upon one entire surface of the laminate sheet. Alternatively, the first and second surface portions may be provided as first and second laminate sheets which are placed above and below the article to be packaged with the cohesive material containing surface portions in face-to-face orientation so that they can be adhered together to form the package.
A number of different combinations can be utilized in the package-forming material of the invention. The paper layer of the laminate may include a printed surface, the printed surface is adhered to the plastic film, and the plastic film forms an outer portion of the package. Also, the paper layer can include first and second surfaces, with the first surface being a printed surface and the second surface being adhered to the plastic film so that the printed surface of the paper layer forms an outer portion of the package. Furthermore, the first surface of the paper layer may be metallized and the second surface adhered to the plastic film so that the metallized surface of the paper layer forms a decorative outer portion of the package.